Scientists asks public to help find missing whales off Florida coast

Whales stranded in Everglades – Officials in boats monitor dozens of pilot whales that are stranded in shallow water in a remote area of Florida's Everglades National Park, on Wednesday, December 4.

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Whales stranded in Everglades – A dead pilot whale lies near the beach in a remote area of Florida's Everglades National Park. Federal officials say 10 of the dozens of whales stranded are now dead.

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Whales stranded in Everglades – A dead pilot whale lies near the beach in a remote area of Everglades National Park.

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Whales stranded in Everglades – Officials monitor the scene where dozens of pilot whales are stranded in shallow water.

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Whales stranded in Everglades – A man paddles a kayak past two pilot whales in a remote area of Everglades National Park.

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Whales stranded in Everglades – Pilot whales are stranded on a beach in a remote area of the western portion of Everglades National Park on Tuesday, December, 3. The marine mammals are known to normally inhabit deep water.

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Story highlights

29 pilot whales that were stranded are still missing off the Florida coast

Scientist call on public for help in spotting them

The whales were last sen alive on Friday, swimming slowly

Twenty-nine pilot whales that were part of a pod that was stranded off the Florida coast are still missing, and scientists are asking the public for help in finding them.

The missing whales were among 51 stranded on the edge of Everglades National Park last week, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Twenty-two of those whales are confirmed dead, and scientists are performing necropsies to figure out why.

The only commonality so far is that all the dead adult whales are female, scientists said.

Eleven dead whales were spotted Sunday in the lower Florida Keys, and 11 others were found dead last week.

Some whales were spotted alive on Friday, when a pod of 20 was seen five nautical miles offshore, moving inshore and in a southward direction.

They were reportedly swimming slowly and in a disorganized fashion, which might suggest exhaustion, dehydration or malnutrition, according to NOAA.

Pilot whales are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, but they are not endangered.